As the number of available sources of broadcast programming increases, it becomes more and more difficult for broadcast viewers to locate interesting program material. For example, in the early days of television, a television viewer was limited to watching television programs on only a few television channels, such as those of the local affiliates of national broadcast networks such as ABC, CBS and NBC. With such a limited number of programming sources, viewers were able to simply “surf” between channels to locate interesting programs.
Due to the advent of cable and satellite television services, however, the number of channels available to television viewers has risen dramatically, to the point where some viewers may have access to as many as several hundred channels. With so many available channels, controls that allow the viewer to switch between channels have also improved from the early days when television channels where selected by rotating a clicking dial on the television set. Today, channels are typically selected from the comfort of a reclining chair using a remote control supplied with the television or set top box. Early remotes simply allowed the user to adjust the volume and switch to the next channel in either the “up” or “down” direction, but as the number of channels grew, a need to allow for direct channel access was observed and numeric buttons where added. Today there are numerous controls to help the user switch between channels. Examples of these include buttons that allow the user to switch between and establish user defined channel lists, buttons to bring up and navigate an online TV guide, and a button that allows the viewer to quickly switch back and forth between two channels.
When a viewer's show of interest is interrupted by a commercial, despite this generous collection of navigational aids, and because channels with a similar format are often grouped together either by the provider or by a user defined channel list, he or she will typically use the more primitive channel up and down buttons to “surf” other channels while the commercial is in progress. A problem occurs when a viewer wishes to return to his or her show of interest. To do this the viewer has to either press the opposing up or down button the same number of times or enter the number for the channel of the show of interest. Many users often forget about the other channels they have surfed though and press the button on the remote that allows the user to switch between the current and the last channel viewed hoping to be taken directly to the show of interest. These viewers are often annoyed when they are not taken back to the channel of the show of interest, but to the last channel they surfed through. Now they must either repeatedly press the channel up or down buttons or remember and enter the channel number to return to the show of interest. These users are still further annoyed when they find the commercial or uninteresting segment of the show of interest is still being broadcast and wish to return to their surfing only to find that to return to the place they left off, they must either repeatedly press the channel up or down button or remember and enter the channel number of the point where they quit surfing. Therefore, a significant need exists in the art for a channel control that will allow the viewer to swap between the current surfing position and the show of interest so that the “territory” covered during a channel surf can be extended.